Out of Breath
by NirCele
Summary: The finished flashback from Ch. 7 of Not Again!. Basically a one-shot. Elrond and his family are on an outing to the beautiful waterfalls in Imladris when a terrible accident occurs.


"Catch me, Glorfy!"

The Balrog-slayer hadn't been expecting that, and he spun, flinging his arms out on instinct - just in time for a bundle of excited elfling to land in them. Shoulder-length dark hair spilled around the mischievous twin's face as he looked up at Glorfindel. "That was fun!" he exclaimed. "Do it again!"

Glorfindel shook his head firmly. "I think not. You about gave me a heart attack."

Deciding that the Elflord was serious, the twin squirmed out of his arms and landed on the ground. "Elves can't have heart attacks, silly!" With that, he darted across the lawn and threw himself on the ground, rolling in the lush green grass. Glorfindel shook his head in amusement and turned to face the tall building that housed the Lord of Imladris and his family. Just then, the named Elflord stepped out between two marble pillars, holding his other son with one hand and his wife with the other.

"Going on an outing?" Glorfindel inquired of his friend.

Elrond nodded. " Celebrían wanted to go on a picnic to the waterfalls on the West side."

"Wonderful idea." He pretended he hadn't been listening to them speak about it last night at the evening meal. "Are you taking the twins, or shall I watch them?"

"We're taking them," Elrond said, them seemed to notice the son running around in the yard. "Elladan!" he called. "Come, we're leaving."

"Have fun," Glorfindel called as the family started for the path that would lead to the waterfalls.

"We will!" the twins yelled back to him.

They reached the picnic area thirty minutes later. It might have taken longer, but Elladan and Elrohir raced each other all the way there and their parents had to run to keep up. The view was beautiful, the river splitting to form two perfect falls that cascaded down into a deep pool.

"Can we swim?" Elladan eagerly asked his father, but it was Celebrían who answered. "No, ion nîn, we're going to eat lunch first. Then you can swim."

The twins cheered, and took off the play among the trees while their parents set up the food, taking much longer than they had to so they could let the boys play and talk among themselves.

"Are you going to swim?" Celebrían asked her husband with a twinkle in her eye.

"If you do, so will I," he replied with the same smirk.

Celebrían glanced over at her sons when one let out a shriek as they tussled. She sighed. "They're growing up far too fast."

"Aye," Elrond said somewhat sadly. "Soon they will start their training. I hope Elrohir doesn't have trouble with it - he is more studious than Elladan and seems like he wouldn't do as well with the physical aspect of the training."

"He will be a healer, like you," his wife predicted. Now grinning, she poked him. "Who would have thought that the mischievous little Elrond would have grown up to be a wise Elflord?"

Elrond replied by sticking his tongue out at her childishly, and she laughed, the sound clear and melodious.

After eating the delicious lunch the cooks had prepared, Celebrían and Elrond let the boys play for a bit longer while they cleaned up.

"I want to be Glorfindel this time!" Elrohir yelled, but his twin was unfazed.

"It's my turn," he retorted. "You were him last time. You can be the Balrog!"

The two glared at each other for a moment before Elrohir acceded. "Fine, but I'm going to play him next time." That settled, the two scooped up the nearest sticks and started mock-fighting with each other.

"Die, foul Balrog!" cried Elladan as he blocked a strike.

"RAHRRR!" was Elrohir's reply, waving one arm threateningly while lunging forward. Elladan caught the blow and pressed back, then abruptly dropped his stick and tackled Elrohir to the ground. They rolled over a few times together before Elrohir flopped limp, pretending to be dead. Elladan leaped to his feet, flinging his arms out. "I have defeated this scum of Morgoth," he yelled triumphantly.

Elrohir's head flew up and he scowled. "No, that's not how it happened! Glorfindel died too!"

"He did not!" Elladan protested. "He's back at home right now!"

"He died!" insisted Elrohir, leaping to his feet. "And then he came back to life!"

Elladan remembered his history lessons suddenly, and knew that his brother was right, but he didn't want to lose this argument. "Well . . . oh yeah? What if he never really died? What if . . . what if he was really alive?"

"He fell off a cliff!" his twin asserted. "Of course he died." Right before it looked like it was going to evolve back into a physical fight, their father interrupted.

"Do you want to swim, boys?" Elrond asked.

They both dropped the argument immediately. "Yes!" Sprinting toward the water, they shed their clothes like extra skins and leapt straight off the overhang into the pool. Celebrían had expected that and she gathered their clothes up, placing them in a pile close to the water. Elrond followed the boys into the water, but only took off his outer tunic and left the rest of his clothes on.

After putting everything they had brought far enough from the pool so they wouldn't get splashed, Celebrían walked to the overhand and sat down, dangling her toes in the water. She raised an eyebrow at her husband, the move adopted from him after decades of marriage. "You're going to go back completely wet."

Elrond ducked a wave sent his way by Elladan and frowned lightly at her. "I don't want the same scenario that happened last time I went swimming."

"What happened?" Elrohir asked curiously. He and Elladan had been having a water-fight, but they paused at their mother's smirking face.

She waved flippantly. "Oh, his clothes went missing while he was swimming."

The twins gaped at her. "He had to go back to Imladris naked?" "Did you take his clothes?"

"No and yes," Celebrían replied. She waggled her eyebrows. "I did take his clothes, but unfortunately there were no tales told about it."

"Fortunately," insisted Elrond. "Glorfindel found me after I didn't come back after nightfall - I was still in the pool - and he had mercy on me, lending me his over-sized tunic so I could go back without being mortified." At his scowl sent Celebrían's way, she swept her feet through the water and splashed him. "Oh, I would have brought your clothes back the next morning. I wouldn't have left you there!"

"Oh yes?" He moved closer, eyes narrowing. The water was barely up to his knees in this end.

Celebrían could hear her sons snickering as they got the idea and scrambled out of the pool, coming up behind her. She considered running, but they would catch her eventually and there was no point delaying the inevitable. Waiting . . . she felt two small pairs of hands grip her shoulders, their owners sniggering.

"Don't move, Nana!" one warned, barely holding in a giggle. The threat was spoiled by the twin calling her his mother, but she didn't mention it.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed dramatically. "I've been captured!"

More snickers behind her. Elrond suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Celebrían by her ankles and yanking her into the water. It was far too shallow to get really wet, but Celebrían let out a shriek anyway. Elrond was laughing as he let go of her and splashed water onto her face. The boys collapsed in giggles behind her, and she rose theatrically from the pool, her blond curls streaming down her back and soaked through. She let out a mock growl.

"You dare attack me?" Celebrían swept her hands through the pond and made a large wave, crashing it onto her husband. He let out a sputter, and Celebrían laughed evilly. "Elladan! Elrohir! Help me defeat this monster!"

They immediately complied, leaping into the water and attacking Elrond, who trembled in fake terror, then fought back valiantly.

Twenty minutes later, Elrond and Celebrían were lying on the bank, gasping for breath. Elladan and Elrohir were still leaping around in the shallow end, but their parents were exhausted.

"Have fun!" Celebrían called to her sons, flopping onto her back. Elrond joined her, and they stared together up at the leafy canopy above them. She let her head fall sideways to stare at her husband, his dark hair spread around him, soaked. "See?" she told him. "I told you that you needed to take a break. Wasn't this relaxing?"

"I wouldn't call being attacked by my wife and traitorous sons 'relaxing,'" he said wryly, then grinned. "But I had fun."

"Ada! Nana!" came a yell from one of the twins. Celebrían sat up, brushing her long wet hair back over her shoulders. Once a pale blond like her mother's, the water had turned it a light brown. She smiled at the elflings. "Yes?"

"We're going to have a competition to see how many rocks we can get off the bottom of the pool!" It was Elladan. "Will you count?"

"We get five minutes each," Elrohir added, his voice carrying over the surface of the water.

"I will," Elrond volunteered, sitting up too. He scooted backwards until he was leaning against a tree, then pulled his wife back to join him. "Are you ready?"

"I'm going first!" Elladan announced.

"No, I want to!"

Celebrían and Elrond prepared themselves for another argument, but didn't interrupted.

Elladan set his hands on his hips. He looked hilarious - black hair dripping wet on his bare shoulders, grey eyes flashing so much like his father's, head held high. "I'm oldest! I should go first!"

"You always get to go first!" Elrohir complained. He was no better, but the only difference was a pale fading scar on his right shoulder where he had fallen a few weeks ago and cut his arm open. He changed tactics, though, and opted for something else. He slumped a little and looked with pleading eyes up at his identical twin. "Can I pleasego first this time?"

Elladan hesitated, and Elrohir pressed on. "I'll let you get the sweets plate first."

"Fi-i-ine," Elladan dragged out, his resolve broken by the temptation of being able to get to the desserts at dinner first. That was a large manner of debate among the two, and usually had to be settled by Elrond - not usually too upset - taking the whole plate and eating them.

Celebrían smiled proudly at the boys' settlement and nudged her husband. He grinned at her and raised his voice. "Get ready, Elrohir! I'm going to start counting!"

Elrohir tensed, ready to dive headfirst into the deep part of the pool. His twin stood beside him, hands still propped on his waist. The pond was shallow on one end, but the other side was almost twenty feet deep; the waterfalls dropped into the that part. The elflings, of course, could swim - they had learned a few years ago. Physically they had the appearance of a five-year old human, but they were actually almost fifteen years old, since elves aged differently than humans. Time still seemed to go by too fast for their parents though.

"And . . . go!" Elrond called. He started counting immediately after.

Elrohir immediately leapt into the water, his hair flying behind him. Elladan watched eagerly, his brother's figure distorted by the rippling water. He saw Elrohir reach the bottom and scoop up a handful of pebbles, his cheeks puffed. Turning, he pushed off the bottom and kicked his legs, coming up for air.

Elrohir let out a gasp as he reached the surface, then took in a deep breath and swam quickly to shore. Dropping the rocks he picked up onto the ground, he turned and dove back into the water. This was repeated four more times before Elrond stopped him from going back in. "Your time's up," the Elflord said.

"Okay!" Elrohir scrambled out of the pool, flinging water all over as he shook his head wildly. "Your turn, El!"

"I'm going to get more than you!" Elladan proclaimed, then dove into the water. Elrond starting counting again.

Elladan swept his arms through the water and flailed his legs, slowing down as he got further into the water. The pressure didn't bother him, though, and he let himself float as he gathered as many rocks as he could into his arms. Rolling over, he looked up toward the surface of the water, then kicked at the ground and shot up. Breaking through the top of the water, he deposited his rocks in a different pile than his brother's, spun and lunged back under. As he reached the bottom again, he felt the water seem to . . . shiver. A ripple went through the pool, and for a brief moment, he heard a crack from the surface, muffled by the water.

A voice yelled, but it was distorted. Elladan peered up toward the surface, his hair floating around his face. There was a blurred shape nearing the water, then it hit with an echo that spread through the water. A . . . rock? Elladan shoved with his hands and drifted backwards as the rock fell toward him much faster than it should have. It barely missed him, practically grazing his nose and settling to the bottom with a light thump. A cloud of dust wafted up from the impact.

Elladan frowned. Where had that come from? He looked up again just in time to see more rocks smashing into the water, most large boulders but a few as small as his fist. The twin's eyes widened in shock. What in Arda was happening? A huge rock, surrounded by many more smaller ones, flew down toward him, the water slowing them down a little but not much. Elladan could see no other option than to dive farther down, away from the rubble. He might be able to dodge them down there, but his movement was hampered by the water.

He had just made it to the bottom when the light that had been coming from the sun far above suddenly disappeared. A shadow completely blocked out the sun, and Elladan looked up just in time - or not, as a huge rock was only a few feet from him. The twin desperately kicked at the ground and floated backwards a yard or two, but the rock settled on his legs despite his efforts.

Surprisingly, it didn't hurt that much, but Elladan could hear a muffled crackfrom his left leg, and his right leg protested weakly, throbbing. Smaller rubble drifted down past him, but no more large ones came his way. Sand and dust were sent afloat by the submerging rocks, and clouded the water around Elladan. He held his breath as tightly as he could, not even daring to let air out. He couldn't see any light from the surface because of the gloomy water, but he knew his father would come to rescue him soon. What had happenedto make the rocks fall like that? Had the waterfalls collapsed?

Elladan could feel his lungs becoming tight, but he knew he would be able to abstain from breathing for another few minutes before he passed out. Desperately wishing for someone to come down and help him, he tried to shift the massive rock off him using his arms. It did the complete opposite, settling further down on his legs. This time it did hurt, sending a bolt of fire up his left leg, and he shuddered, letting out a pained cry. Air bubbles escaped from his mouth and shot to the surface. He could feel his whole soul reverberate with the trauma, and it echoed across to his twin. He could feel Elrohir's shock at the pain.

I'm sorry, brother, Elladan thought, but knew he could not hear him. Gritting his teeth, Elladan tried to pull his right leg out from under the rock, but that didn't work either. It was firmly trapped. He didn't dare to move his other leg again, in fear of it hurting more. Trapped, stuck, with no way out . . .

Elladan jerked once more, then was startled by another muted impact from the surface. Water rippled around him, and he could see a blurred figure swimming down toward him. It moved closer, but Elladan couldn't make out who it was until they were right next to him.

It was Elrond, his dark hair hovering around his face as he caught sight of Elladan trapped under the rock. He didn't stop to think, just grabbed the rock immediately and pushed. It shifted slightly, then settled down further on Elladan's legs. The twin let out an involuntary cry, losing the rest of the air in his lungs.

Elrond desperately looked around for something to pry the rock up. Seeing nothing, he turned back to his son.

Elladan could feel fog pressing in around his mind, trying to pull him into unconsciousness. His lungs begged for breath, but he had none to give them. He could feel the rocks shift as his father pulled urgently on it, trying to free him. Casting one last look at his father, he let the darkness claim him; his head fell backwards and he fell to the floor of the pool, losing his buoyancy.

And then he woke, choking on the water that forced past his lips, heaving for breath. The air seemed to shimmer around him, then he realized he was out of the water, safe . . . the first things his eyes lit on was Elrohir, crouching next to him, his face streaked with tears. Elrond was sitting back, his hair plastered to his back, gasping himself. His mother Celebrían, he realized, had her arms around his back, holding him up.

Elladan spit the last of the water past his lips, then heaved in a ragged breath. "Ada?" His voice was quivering. "Nana? What happened?"

Elrond almost sank to the ground in relief. "Oh, Elladan!" He pressed a kiss to his son's forehead, then leaned back. "The waterfall collapsed. You were trapped in the rubble . . . I barely got you out in time."

The twin sniffed, still remembering those panicked moments of lost breath and water weighing him down. His eyes were still fixed on Elrohir, who hadn't said anything. "El - Elrohir?"

The younger twin's eyes were brimming with tears. "You were so pale! I thought you were dead, and I couldn't feel you - !" With a choked sob, he lunged forward and wrapped slender arms around his brother's trembling form, providing and receiving comfort.

Elladan hugged his little brother's warm body closer to himself, their identical heads pressed together and wet hair mixing. "You'll always feel me," whispered Elladan quietly to Elrohir, the words meant only for his twin's ears. "I'll never leave you here by yourself."

"Promise?" came the tiny reply from Elrohir.

Another sniff. "Promise."

Behind the two clinging siblings, Celebrían's face was drained of blood, her silver eyes meeting her husband's own grey orbs. No words were needed - both parents had been terrified for their oldest son. Celebrían had held Elrohir while he hyperventilated as his brother struggled for air far under the water, and Elrond had panicked when Elladan went limp. Neither of the parents wanted to discuss what had happened during those few frenzied minutes.

Elrond let the twins cuddle each other for a while longer before he gently tapped Elladan's shoulder. The elfling snuffled once more, then looked up. His eyes were red with crying, and Elrond hated to hurt him more, but he had to know -

"Elladan?" queried his father. "Does it hurt anywhere?"

At the question, Elladan realized his left leg was throbbing. The pain had been drowned out in the emotion of the moment. He automatically winced, and Elrohir drew back, frowning. "Your leg?" the younger twin asked.

Elrond bent forward immediately, his eyes roving over Elladan's legs. He spied a slight bump on the twin's left leg, a bruise starting to form. He ran his hands carefully over it, and felt an abnormality immediately. Despite his gentle hands, Elladan still winced.

"What is it?" Celebrían asked her husband, seeing the concentrated look on his face.

He looked up, producing a slight smile. "I guess it wouldbe foolish to assume he could escape unscathed. There's a slight crack in the bone."

Elladan looked horrified, not knowing what that meant. Elrohir let out a squeak and grabbed his brother's hand. "Is his leg going to get chopped off?"

"What? - no!" Elrond reassured, seeing that the twins were both becoming extremely alarmed. "It will be fine, he just will need to have his leg wrapped for a few days before it heals."

"Oh."

"Well, then." Elrond climbed to his feet. "I guess we'll be going back then." He cast a glance at the waterfalls, their structure altered because of the rocks that had broken from the edge and into the pool.

"I'll carry Elladan," Celebrían volunteered, wanting to comfort her hurt son.

Elladan gripped his brother tighter. His eyes pleaded not to be separated from his twin, but even Elrond couldn't carry them both all the way back.

"I'll take back Elrohir," their father decided. "Celebrían, you can carry Elladan. We'll send someone to fetch the picnic items." He waited until his sons reluctantly disentangled themselves and Elrohir offered his arms up to his father to be picked up. In a swift movement, the Elf lord scooped up the younger twin, one arm holding his legs and the other supporting his neck and propping him against his father's chest.

Celebrían did the same with Elladan, and she whispered comforting words in her son's ear as they started back down the path to Imladris.

"Ada?" Elrohir's deep grey eyes stared up at Elrond.

"Yes?"

The elfling's voice was low. "Did - did you think Elladan was going to die?"

Elrond held back a shudder at the recollection of his oldest son's frightened face, paling for lack of oxygen, yet completely trusting his father to get him out. "For a moment there, I did," he admitted, then looked down seriously at Elrohir. "But, ion nín, I will never let your brother die while it is in my power to save him. Do you understand?"

Elrohir nodded, then buried his face in his father's wet tunic. A minute later, almost to the bridge to the Healing Halls, a muffled voice came from him. "Ada?"

"Yes, Elrohir?"

The dark head came up once more, looking seriously at his father. "I want to be a healer like you when I'm older."

If Elrond or Celebrían had worried that the traumatic experience would calm the twins' bright spirits, their fears were put to rest the very next week.

"Elrond!" shrieked a certain Balrog-slayer, storming out of the bathing chambers.

The Elf lord had just happened to be nearby, and he stared in shock as his best friend stomped toward him, steam from his hot bath still rising from his shoulders, and a robe wrapped hastily around him.

Glorfindel looked his usual self - except for the fact that his eyes were narrowed to furious blue orbs, and his face was contorted in anger. "You - you," stuttered the Elda, trying to put his words in the correct order. He jabbed a accusing finger at the two identical heads peeking out from behind their father's robe. "Your little . . . spawn did something to my hair soap!"

One eyebrow rose. "I can, ahem - see that."

Glorfindel's famous golden hair was a bright, beautiful pink. "I . . !" He tried to find a suitable word that he would not be berated for later. "They . . . "

Elrond could barely hold back a smirk as the Balrog-slayer growled. "Why, Glorfindel, I think it looks good on you!"

**I'd love to hear what you think, please review!**


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